Not A Graecus
by WritersChildXOX
Summary: Crystal is 14 and doesn't know which side to choose. Aiden is 12 and hates demigod life. Nico needs to take a death trip. Chiron's loyalties are questioned. Grover might have to betray a friend. Percy is in the middle of it all, and there might not be a way to settle the problems calmly.
1. Come With Me

I don't own any of the characters etc. credit all goes to Rick Riordan. The only characters I own are Crystal and Aiden.

CRYSTAL

Crystal raced down the hallway; adrenaline soaring, heart pumping, footsteps clonking. A tall, masked man had snuck into her house, targeting her. His hair was braided with gold and silver coins that had a man's profile on the side. The man was tall, at least 9 feet, almost reaching the ceiling in Crystal's high-roofed house. He smelt of the earth and water, as though it had given birth to him itself. But Crystal had no time to notice this, for all she was concerned with was staying alive.

Finally, she reached her special drawer in the kitchen that housed a humble knife with a bronze color. She had found it, wrapped in a package the day before at her doorstep, saying _"Use this to ward off intruders. -CHB"_ She had no idea who CHB was, or even how it worked. As soon as the masked man stepped into the light, Crystal held the flat side of the knife up above her eyes, as if shielding herself from the sun.

Then, Crystal saw something. The man's eyes filled with fear and cautiousness, as if Crystal was about to detonate a nuclear bomb over his head. He backed away slowly. In a muffled voice he said "Don't come any closer with that. Put it down, and die quietly." _No way!_ Crystal thought. _No way am I gonna let him kill me._ Crystal didn't know if it was her ADHD or a sense of urgency, but she jumped onto him and stabbed him in the chest. The blood drained out of the injury and onto the floor. The man, half consciously, murmured something in a foreign language Crystal didn't recognize, then dissipated into smoke. In shock, Crystal slid to the floor, not knowing what had just happened. Right then, she heard clapping come out of the dark alcove in the hallway.

She sat up and took an alert form. "I..I have a.. a knife! D-d-don't come c-c-loser!" She called out, shaking with fatigue and fear. "I'm not gonna hurt you. In fact, I've come to save you and take you somewhere that you'll never see monsters like him again." The voice called. It sounded human, at least. "Come o-o-out!" Crystal demanded nervously. When the person came into the light, Crystal gasped. It was the same boy she saw earlier today, asking about her parents. "You." Was all Crystal could manage. "Come with me, and you'll be safe." The boy said, his words fluid and smooth. "I will. Whatever. You. Say." Crystal said slowly, before she blacked out into nothingness.

GROVER

Grover was once told that weight is speed, and speed is better. Yeah, like that was helping him bunches. Grover was in the Hephaestus cabin aiding the newcomer Aiden in his project. Aiden was assigned the job of constructing a distraction weapon for Capture the Flag later that week. Easy for a seasoned camper, but not for him. Heck, Aiden didn't even know what distraction they wanted! So naturally, Grover stepped in and said that the more weight the more speed he'd have, but all Aiden got was a broken down nothing. His contraption collapsed as soon as Aiden gave the final pat. Yup, Grover was on his normal schedule of helping all of the cabins.

"Just keep trying, Aiden. It'll come to you. You're a Hephaestus kid! You build stuff!" Grover said, trying to encourage the boy. _He's never gonna get it right, is he._

"Um... Grover? I-I'm gonna take a break. Um... See you back soon?" Aiden said, ending with an open statement.

Something was on edge with Aiden. Grover didn't know if he was nervous, or... was hiding something? _No. Aiden's only been here for one summer! What could he hide?_ Grover thought. Ever since the Titan War, and the Luke Castellan and Selena Beaureguard betrayal, Grover was getting pretty paranoid about all of the newcomers. _Quit it! Nothing's wrong with Aiden! He's just nervous with me here, you know... the strong, intimidating type? Poor boy._ Grover reasoned with himself. He glanced up at the sky. "Holy Hephaestus! It's dinner time! I almost didn't realize the time!" Grover yelped, out loud. He got a few strange looks from the nearby dryads, but besides that, no one noticed his outburst. _Keep your cool, keep your cool._ Grover made himself remember. He couldn't let his composure droop, being a member of the Cloven Elders and all. Sometimes, Grover was too stressed to think about his actions, but this time, he caught himself just in time.

He raced down the trail to the Big House for dinner. _The sun is darker today. Winter weather I suppose!_ After talking himself out of his notion, he continued to the Big House. What Grover failed to notice, however, was that a new sunspot had appeared, as black as night. A cold breeze swept through the cabin area as the spot reached its full size, just enough to see with the naked eye.

AIDEN

He didn't feel like dinner. He hadn't felt like lunch or breakfast either. In fact, he hadn't felt like being a demigod also. It was too complicated with monsters, gods, history, and secrets. Basically, he wanted an out plan for all of this. A way to escape the Greek gods and monsters. That's when he talked to the goddess Nemesis, who had come to him to offer an alliance.

 _"You are important, Aiden. I need your alliance to help me." She had told him. He agreed, but wanted to know how to escape demigod-hood. "I'll help you with what you need, then I'll quit. I-I swear on the River Styx!" He swore, as thunder rumbled in the distance. "Good. Very good!" Nemesis purred. Aiden wasn't sure if that was good or not. Finally, Nemesis had told Aiden. "Tartarus. That is the place you must go. You will meet him and he will grant you mortality, for a price of course. Everything must be balanced. He understands that." Nemesis told Aiden. "Wait... You mean Tartarus is-" Aiden was cut off. "You will know soon enough, son of Hephaestus. Restore the balance." Nemesis answered him, before she disappeared into mist._

Aiden was too distracted to think about the weapon for capture the flag. That's why he took the walk, to set out things and make a plan. _Go to Tartarus? How could someone do that?_ It was unheard of. Well, at least for him, because this was Aiden's first summer at Camp Half Blood. He decided to check out this Tartarus deal. With only a few seconds to think, Aiden changed trails and headed to the Hades cabin to visit Nico di Angelo.


	2. Lost Artifacts

CHIRON

This hadn't happened since the demigod Civil War. A celestial bronze knife had disappeared, but its absence was only noticed when the routine summer cleanout, which readied the camp for summer campers, reached the attic. "How could this've happened? Who would've stolen anything from camp?" Chiron muttered under his breath. This whole thing was about to give him a headache. First, Clovis son of Hypnos, the sleep god, took off after one day of camp. Next, Grover confronts Chiron about his anxiety about Aiden, and now this. A knife gets stolen. "Why this knife? Couldn't it of been a kitchen knife? I guess not, because they had to go steal Katropis. Not, as they say, cool," He muttered under his breath. Katropis was the knife used by Helen if Troy during the Trojan War. Now, such a valuable artifact is missing. Just his luck.

Something about all of the disappearances of, well, various things didn't sit right with Chiron. He knew something was up. Something... He couldn't place. Then, from the stairwell leading to the attic, a voice called. "Chiron! Come on! It's time for dinner..." That's just me being crazy. Footsteps, tenuously clopping up the stairs. Chiron started to get nervous. What if this is the person behind the thefts and disappearances.

No. Snap out of it. Finally, the footsteps reached the attic doorway. "Chiron! Everyone is waiting for you. Come on!" Grover called at Chiron, clearly tired out of breath from racing up the stairs leading to the attic. "Yes. I-I'm coming. Don't wait for me. I'll arrive in a few moments. Alert Mr. D I have an announcement to make," Chiron stated, growing more comfortable with his words as he said them. As soon as Grover was out of earshot, Chiron muttered under his breath, "Oh gods of Olympus. This can't be a coincidence..."

CRYSTAL

She awoke. Crystal's head was buzzing and her balance was off. "Where am I?" Crystal asked herself, under her breath. "You're here. With me. I will keep you safe." A voice said. It came from all around, not having any apparent source. She jumped. It was the same, hollow boyish voice she had heard right before she collapsed. That part still puzzled her, too. It wasn't like she passed out. No. Passing out was sharp and hard. This was more of a relaxing, a smooth transition into darkness. What had happened?

"W-w-who are you?" Crystal stuttered.

"I am the one that saved you from the giant that attacked you."

"A giant? What's going on?"

"Listen to my words, and believe. You are a demigod. One of your parents is a god of the Greeks. But I have brought you here for you to help me. I need to awaken, and you will help me."

"Why should I help you? You kidnapped me!"

"Would your parents care? Or rather... your mom? Seems like you've never seen your father before. He doesn't care about you, leaving you to rot with your mother who doesn't want you either. That's the problem. Join me. I will care about you unlike your father-ahem-doesn't."

"Yeah... Yeah! What do you want me to do?"

"Go to a place called Camp Half Blood. Find Nico di Angelo. Bring him to me."

That was all Crystal heard before she melted into darkness again. She needed a plan, and quick. She could remotely feel the changing of the air, but she hardly cared. She felt like she needed rest...

PERCY

It wasn't like Chiron to be late. Ever. When I glanced over at Annabeth, she looked as unsettled by the delay as I felt. Oh, by the way, Annabeth is my crazy amazing girlfriend. Yeah. Anyway, all ears perked up when Chiron entered the room. Whispers went 'round and rustling was more audible. Mr. D was the first to speak up. "Chiron! Why in Zeus's name are you late. It's already quarter past! I've had to deal with these runts and I want to turn them all to dolphins, but I refrained. Too much work, you understand. Anyway, take it away." Chiron was stunned. It wasn't like Mr. D to talk in large phrases such as that. Finally, Chiron came out of it and began. "There has been a theft, a disappearance, and a suspicion in this camp." Everyone broke into nervous chatter. A theft? Who would steal in camp? Percy thought. He stole another glance at Annabeth. He caught her eyes, and she mouthed "WHAT. IS. HAPPENING?" "I DON'T KNOW!" I mouthed back. Aw, gods. Why does this happen to me?

"A very special weapon has been stolen. Right now, many of our staff is searching for this object. I do not have to explain the object for the person who stole it to know what I am talking about. After this meeting is over, come to my office no later than midnight. I have called off the harpies on the campers tonight. As for the disappearance, Clovis has been missing since yesterday." Whispers went throughout the room. "Calm down. Yes, Clovis is missing, and there is no record of him before he disappeared. All we know is that he checked in at the beginning of the week, had sparse attendance, and then was not found in his bed. If anyone knows about the whereabouts of Clovis, step forward now." No one moved. The silence was deafening, you could hear a pen drop. "We will search for Clovis. As for the accusation, that information cannot be disclosed until something happens. Thank you, return to your meals."

That left Percy with a shock. Gods of Olympus, why is this happening. One more glance at Annabeth left Percy with a plan. "TREE." He mouthed. She nodded. Now Grover. "TREE." Percy mouthed, again, and Grover nodded. No way would he sit back. Something had to happen. Since the harpies were gone for the night, Percy hopefully wouldn't get killed. Breaking the rules with a 90% chance of living? That's a deal Percy loves.


End file.
